Maturity of Kate Chopin’s “Ripe Figs” The author Kate Chopin is a woman born in the 1800’s who wrote about individuality of women and understanding a woman’s viewpoint during this time. How women were perceived back in the 19th century culturally and economically was as if they were property to be owned by anyone who pleases. An analysis of Chopin’s, “Ripe Figs” will show the use of theme through: religion, patience, and maturity by relating the maturity process to the seasons of the year and the ripening of the figs. The first theme that Kate Chopin provides an image of is patience. One way Chopin show’s patience in her writing is through her usage of comparing Maman-Nainaine to Babette. When she says, “Maman-Nainaine was as patient as the statue of La Madone, and Babette as restless as a hummingbird,” Kate Chopin is providing a visual image of what patience looks like, and how Babette’s character is at an impatient point in her maturity (26). Also, this image contrasts the impatience of youth with the desireable patience that comes with time. Another way Chopin represents Babette’s patience in the story is through time perception. The story suggests that Babette and Mamaine-Nainaine grasp time in two different perspectives. When Mamaine-Nainaine mentions “oh how early the figs have ripened this year,” but Babette says, “ I think they have ripened very late,” displays the different views of the characters and how different their perceptions of time are waiting on the figs